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☆ Biden to meet congressional leaders on debt early next week - White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Jeff Mason | Thomson Reuters | Jeff Mason Is A White House Correspondent For Reuters. He Has Covered The Presidencies Of Barack Obama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders early next week to resume budget negotiations and resolve a looming default on the nation's debt, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday. The leaders had canceled a planned meeting on Friday to let staff continue to discuss. Pierre told reporters that the staff-level talks, which started on Tuesday, have been "productive," though she declined to provide specifics. "They're going to meet today, they're going to meet over the weekend. Biden initially said he could cancel the trip if needed, but Jean-Pierre said on Friday he plans on going.

☆ US military to bolster defensive posture in Gulf after Iran seizes tankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. military will work to bolster the defensive posture in the Gulf region following Iran's seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels in recent months, U.S. officials said on Friday. In the past two years, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigational rights of 15 internationally flagged commercial vessels, officials said. "The Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf," White House spokesperson John Kirby told a news briefing. The U.S. Navy said on May 3 the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Days earlier, Iran had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.

"Right now, the permitting process for clean energy infrastructure, including transmission, is plagued by delays and bottlenecks. The White House is backing a bill by Manchin of West Virginia, who has grown more critical in recent months of the administration's attacks on the fossil fuel industry. The White House released a detailed fact sheet outlining reform measures its seeking, including helping clean energy projects like wind and solar get on the grid faster. Manchin's legislation sets a two-year limit on environmental reviews of major federal energy projects, including ones on fossil fuels and directs the president to designate at least 25 high-level energy projects and prioritize their permitting. The White House said it is using existing authorities to speed permitting of energy projects.

Reuters spoke to political tacticians and advisers inside and outside the White House and Congress about tell-tale signals that could come from the meeting. The meeting is set to include Biden, McCarthy, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. As invitees to the White House, they're not expected to bring any other lawmakers. MCCARTHY, BIDEN'S TONE BEFORE AND AFTERHeading into Tuesday's meeting, Biden and McCarthy have cast one another as stubborn, misguided and, at times, dangerous. White House officials say they want this to be a productive meeting, not just Washington theater.

☆ Biden, Mexican president discuss border security before Title 42 end
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday discussed border security measures as they prepare for a potential migrant wave when a key U.S. border policy ends this week, the White House said. The Biden administration and Texas state authorities are sending reinforcements to the U.S.-Mexico border to prepare for a possible increase in immigration when COVID-19 restrictions known as Title 42 are end on Thursday. In a phone call on Tuesday, Biden and Lopez Obrador "discussed continued close coordination between border authorities and strong enforcement measures," the White House said in a statement. Lopez Obrador said on Twitter they had discussed their commitment to work together on migration, as well as drugs and arms trafficking. They also discussed "cooperation in caring for the continent's poorest," Lopez Obrador added.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoNEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. government could delay a decision on giving electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers tradable credits under a renewable fuel scheme, due to concern about legal challenges to the plan, two sources familiar with the matter said. Most credits generated under the RFS are for blending liquid fuels such as ethanol made from corn into gasoline. Adding credits for power generated from renewable gas and then used for charging EVs would take the program in a new direction. The EPA initially proposed adding EVs to the program when it outlined the mandates for blending biofuels for 2023-2025. The delay in finalizing the EV credit program may mean more volume is available for other renewable fuel pools under the 2023-2025 mandate, including blending for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year recommended adding EVs to the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which incentivizes oil refiners to blend biofuels. The EPA under the Biden administration is now testing the legal limits of the liquid fuel program by extending it to EVs. The EPA has proposed granting EV manufacturers tradable credits based on the amount of renewable electricity that makes it on the grid. Renewable gas producers and EV manufacturers like Tesla have been jockeying to gain the most benefits from the new credits. The November proposal foresaw EV manufacturers could generate as many as 600 million credits in 2024 and 1.2 billion of them by 2025.

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Incumbent President Joe Biden entered the 2024 election race on Tuesday with something he didn't have two-and-a-half years ago: a record in the White House. Critics also say that increased federal spending under Biden, including $750 million on climate change and tax breaks, also drove inflation higher. Biden may have worse cards in 2024, with unemployment likely to rise as growth slows, interest rates remaining high and inflation holding above pre-pandemic levels. Biden also dismissed the sentences of thousands of people with federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, a disproportionately non-white group. The Biden administration also has faced scrutiny over its handling of record numbers of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

If he wins, he will face off against Biden again in the November 2024 election. The poll showed that a majority of registered voters don't want either Biden or Trump to run again. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at North America's Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton, in Washington, April 25, 2023. Biden ran a mostly virtual campaign to defeat Trump in the 2020 election as COVID raged. After losing to Biden in 2020, Trump refused to concede defeat, falsely claiming that there had been widespread electoral fraud.

Administration officials believe the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer and global economy have entered a more predictable, less volatile phase. This year, gasoline prices have stabilized at lower levels, U.S. oil production is approaching record highs and the job market, while still strong, is cooling down along with inflation, administration officials say. Oil prices slipped on Thursday as the prospect of a possible recession in the US offset concerns of tight supply. Slowing economy or not, the OPEC move could still complicate Biden's efforts to tame nagging inflation and dampen gasoline prices at home, according to multiple interviews with U.S. officials and analysts. Discussions with refiners about expanding capacity or limiting fuel exports have dried up since last summer, oil executives told Reuters.

Administration officials believe the U.S. and global economy has now entered a more predictable, less volatile phase. This year, gasoline prices have stabilized at lower levels, U.S. oil production is approaching record highs and the job market, while still strong, is cooling down along with inflation, administration officials say. The OPEC move could complicate Biden's efforts to tame nagging inflation and dampen gasoline prices at home, according to multiple interviews with U.S. officials and analysts. The recent U.S. banking crisis has added another layer of uncertainty to global and U.S. forecasts as well, forecasters warn. Discussions with refiners about expanding capacity or limiting fuel exports have dried up since last summer, oil executives told Reuters.

The proposal is aimed at protecting woman who live in states where abortion is illegal who travel out of state to have the procedure done - something thousands of women are already doing, research shows. It is unclear whether the proposed rule would actually stifle criminal investigations. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) covers most health insurance and other company benefit plans and generally preempts state laws on abortion-related coverage. But it does not prevent states from prosecuting plans, sponsors, administrators and their employees in all instances. Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Heather Timmons; Editing by Heather Timmons and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CHICAGO, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden picked Chicago to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, tapping a large liberal city in the heart of the Midwest to hold what could be his nominating party, officials said on Tuesday. "Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention," Biden said in a statement distributed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Tuesday. The city has hosted several Democratic conventions, including the tumultuous and violent 1968 gathering during the Vietnam War. "There'll be some initial heartbreak, which I'm experiencing right now," said Dominick Perkins, a top Democratic strategist in Georgia. The convention, where delegates will formally select a final Democratic nominee to run in the November 2024 presidential election, will run from Aug. 19-22 next year, the DNC said.

CHICAGO, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and his party selected Chicago to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, tapping a large liberal city in the heart of the Midwest to hold its nominating party, the Democratic National Committee announced on Tuesday. Chicago beat out New York, another progressive city, as well as Atlanta, a city in the presidential battleground state of Georgia that helped Biden win the White House and gain control of the Senate. “Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” Biden said in a statement. The convention, where delegates will formally select a final Democratic nominee to run in the November 2024 presidential election, will run from Aug. 19-22, the DNC said. While he has not officially declared his candidacy, Biden is expected to be the party's standard-bearer in the 2024 general election.

☆ Harris backs expelled Tennessee lawmakers, chides Republicans for ousting them
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Cheney Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Republicans who control the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday expelled two young Black lawmakers who last week led protesters into the well of the House floor, while a resolution to remove a white representative came up one vote short. The Republicans ousted Justin Pearson, 28, of Memphis, and Justin Jones, 27, from the Nashville area. They staged the protest for gun reforms following the March 27 shooting at a Nashville school that killed three 9-year-old students and three adults. With a 75-23 advantage over Democrats in the House, Tennessee Republicans took the extraordinary measure to expel their Democratic colleagues, citing their disruption of orderly House business. Just two state lawmakers had previously been expelled since the U.S. Civil War.

☆ Harris visits Tennessee after lawmakers expelled over gun protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Cheney Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/7] U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an address after the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Democratic members, representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, for their roles in a gun control demonstration at the Tennessee State Capitol, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., April 7, 2023. Just two state lawmakers had previously been expelled since the U.S. Civil War. Tennessee Representative Yusuf Hakeem, a Democrat, said Harris' visit showed "the White House is very interested and concerned in a meaningful way," adding that he does not expect protests to fade. Nearly 50 organizations, led by gun safety advocacy group the Newtown Action Alliance, called for nationwide student walkouts in solidarity with those in Tennessee. Members of the Tennessee General Assembly's Black Caucus at a news conference on Friday said Republicans had sunk to new lows.

☆ Harris chides Tennessee Republicans for ousting state lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Cheney Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Republicans ousted Justin Pearson, 28, of Memphis, and Justin Jones, 27, from the Nashville area. They staged the protest for gun reforms following the March 27 shooting at a Nashville school that killed three 9-year-old students and three adults. [1/7] U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an address after the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Democratic members, representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, for their roles in a gun control demonstration at the Tennessee State Capitol, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., April 7, 2023. With a 75-23 advantage over Democrats in the House, Tennessee Republicans took the extraordinary measure to expel their Democratic colleagues, citing their disruption of orderly House business. Just two state lawmakers had previously been expelled since the U.S. Civil War.

☆ Biden proposal limits bans on transgender athletes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday proposed a rule change that would prohibit schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes from teams that are consistent with their gender identities, but offered flexibility on exceptions for the highest levels of competition. The proposed change to Title IX is likely to revive debates about transgender rights, particularly in sports. Across the country, there has been a push by conservative U.S. lawmakers to prevent transgender women from participating in school sports. The proposal would also offer flexibility to K-12 schools and universities to limit the participation of transgender students when including them could undermine "fairness in competition" or potentially lead to sports-related injuries. Critics say transgender women who take part in women's sports are often bigger and stronger than their cisgender opponents and have an unfair advantage.

The boosted tax credit is central to the administration’s goal of ensuring areas long dependent on fossil fuels benefit from clean energy. "Communities like coal communities have the knowledge, infrastructure, resources and know-how to play a leading role in the move to a clean energy economy," U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. The bonus credit also is available to other "energy communities" - areas that have significant employment or local tax revenues from fossil fuels and higher than average unemployment. The Treasury said it will open project applications for the first round of coal and energy communities tax credits on May 31. Those minerals are crucial to producing clean energy technologies like batteries and solar panels.

April 4 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Tuesday will release final guidance on how clean energy companies can secure additional tax credits when investing in U.S. communities economically tied to fossil fuels like oil and coal. The boosted tax credit is central to the administration’s goal of ensuring areas long dependent on fossil fuels benefit from clean energy. It also helped secure West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin's essential support for the bill. "Communities like coal communities have the knowledge, infrastructure, resources and know-how to play a leading role in the move to a clean energy economy," U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. Those minerals are crucial to producing clean energy technologies like batteries and solar panels.

Biden was continuing a strategy his White House has honed on Trump over two years - silence is golden. As president, Biden has lambasted the former president's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) allies and policies, but rarely Trump himself. "They've been smart to stay out of it," Democratic strategist Lis Smith said of the White House strategy on Trump. The split screen of President Biden focused on doing his job well versus Trump and the Republican Party in chaos will only help him." The White House has said it will not comment on Trump because his actions are being investigated by Biden's own Justice Department, which the president has pledged to leave independent.

Biden was continuing a strategy his White House has honed on Trump over two years - silence is golden. Now that Trump has been indicted in a New York hush money case, White House officials indicate they plan to follow the same "keep quiet and carry on" playbook. As president, Biden has lambasted the former president's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) allies and policies, but rarely Trump himself. "They've been smart to stay out of it," Democratic strategist Lis Smith said of the White House strategy on Trump. The split screen of President Biden focused on doing his job well versus Trump and the Republican Party in chaos will only help him."

☆ Manchin threatens to sue US Treasury over EV tax credit rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin said on Wednesday he may go to court after the U.S. Treasury releases guidance later this week on battery sourcing guidance for electric vehicle tax credits. Manchin said he is most concerned about how Treasury will classify processing and manufacturing in determining eligibility for $7,500 EV tax credits. Manchin, who has often pushed fossil fuel industry interests in Congress, says he is trying to move the EV battery supply chain from China. Reuters reported earlier the Treasury battery sourcing rules for electric vehicle tax credits, due out by Friday, will result in fewer vehicles qualifying for full or partial credits. The EV rules are part of a $430 billion bill passed by Democrats in August to cut climate emissions and reduce drug costs, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act.

☆ White House touts Amazon EVs, Google EV tax credit tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 30 (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday highlighted new U.S. company moves to support electric vehicles (EVs), as final rules on tax credits aimed at boosting the industry are expected this week. The federal government will buy 13,000 light- and medium-duty zero emission vehicles this fiscal year, about four times more than last fiscal year, the White House said. On Friday, the administration is expected to release final rules on eligibility for $7,500 EV tax credits, including how much of the car's battery must come from U.S.-sourced parts. Google will provide up-to-date information about the availability and coverage of tax credits across eligible passenger vehicles with a new search tool, the White House said. Wells Fargo will also release a new tool to help businessess evaluate electric vehicle fleets by modeling deployment that incorporates the cost of electrification, tax credits, cost savings, and environmental benefits, the White House said.

Biden's 2024 race will be different, aides and Democratic party officials say. The race to host the party convention is now down to two cities, sources say: Chicago and Atlanta. Chicago's pull is rooted in tradition, deep-pocketed donors and union ties, while Atlanta's appeal reflects the power of Georgia's grassroots networks and the importance to the party of Black voters and a racially diverse electorate. Top Democratic political officials in eight Midwestern states wrote Biden last week to push for a Chicago convention. CHICAGO, UNION TOWNHolding the convention in Chicago would put Biden in a Democratic powerhouse, where the party controls the legislature and executive branches.

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